Escaping Insanity: A Cruising Trip Report from the NCL Escape June 17-24 2017

[cemushr]

Enjoying it!! Didn't realize you were a researcher ... would have bantered a little with you! I just took educational research in my M.Ed. Program - hardest thing I've ever taken - and I still haven't figured out qualitative vs quantitative!! Reading on...

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

 

 

We'll just have to meet up on another cruise! ;)

[cemushr]

With about one week left, I was going through the final checklist of things:

 

• Cruise Tags – printed out and in their plastic holders (I purchased these to give to my clients and had to make sure they worked…they did!)
  

What is a cruise tag and where did you get them??? I am new to being a TA and am always looking for new ideas for my clients. I have luggage tags, knock off yeti's and bags but no cruise tags?? What exactly are they?

 

 

I don't want to get in trouble on here recommending any one particular site. The best advice I can give you is to Google "Cruise tag travel agents" and see what links come up. ;p

[cemushr]

EMBARKATION DAY!!

 

 

I was the first one up (I’m like the kids in an old Walt Disney World commercial…can’t sleep…too excited!). I looked out the window and did a quick count…1…2…3…4…5…yep 5 ships (insert a laugh from “the Count” from Sesame Street… “5! 5 Ships ah-ah-ah…crash/boom”).

In the foreground was the luxury yacht, Seafair.

 

 

 

 

 

Behind it was Regent’s Seven Seas Navigator, with four large ships on the other side of Port Miami’s Dodge Island.

There’s MSC Divina, two whale tails, which were Carnival Glory and Carnival Vista, and then…there she was…Norwegian Escape.

Soon afterward, the other three were awake and wondering what I was doing looking out the window for ten minutes straight. I told the boys to look and see what was out there.

They couldn’t get past the yacht docked next to the hotel. Once I got them to focus over at Port Miami, their eyes got a little wider.

We all did the bathroom shuffle to get 4 people ready in one bathroom. I started packing up the electronics, while the others made sure nothing was left in the room. We then headed down to the Starbucks in the lobby for a quick bite. We didn’t want to fill up on a large breakfast – why pay for that when you could have free food on the ship in just a few hours???

The boys enjoyed their café mochas at Starbucks (which, I should probably add, was their first taste of Starbucks and mochas). I was fully expecting them to start emulating Beavis and Butthead when they had coffee (“I am the great Cornholio!”). Luckily, they seemed rather subdued. It could have been the cute girls in the store that kept them calm. Aaron has this running joke where he’d claim to introduce himself to a cute girl with this falsetto “heellLLOOOOOOOoooo!” I brought that up and told him to try it out with them.

Yeah…he didn’t listen to me.

We headed back up to pack, and I made an executive decision to download my videos to have as much storage space as possible on the GoPro, since I was planning on using and abusing that piece of equipment that day. As I was downloading, it started raining outside. I immediately went into planning mode for how to handle this; luckily, I didn’t have to fret for long, because the rain stopped about ten minutes later. Despite my pleas for her to try Bonine this time, Wifey opted for scopolamine, and I helped her get the patch on.

I did the texting checkout, and we were out! I have to say again that the Intercontinental Miami really impressed me and that I would definitely recommend it; just make sure that you’re aware of any concerts nearby.

 

 

I set up our Uber ride to the terminal, and Carlos was there in less than five minutes. We were on Dodge Island within three minutes, but the tunnel traffic was thick! With five ships embarking that day, it wasn’t a major surprise. It took just over 15 minutes to load the car, ride to terminal C, and unload the car. There was a momentary panic as we realized that the laptop was still on the car after we shut the door; luckily, we were able to flag Carlos down before he took off. Counting the number of bags came in handy there!

We immediately grabbed a porter and dropped off 5 bags, leaving us with 5 smaller tote bags to haul around (definitely doable). After tipping the porter, we headed up to the door for Terminal C, not exactly knowing how busy it would be. The line for security screening was moving quickly, and we were through it in about 4 minutes. Up next was the medical form. I was a bit concerned, because of allergies that I had been dealing with for nearly a week. My eyes were a bit red, and there was a definite cough bugging the heck out of me. Knowing that it was allergies (I forgot to take an allergy pill that morning), I felt confident filling out the form – I wasn’t going to give someone my case of allergies. As we were filling out the form, a security guard walked by, which got everyone’s attention – he stood around 6’8” and was solid muscle. How he was not in the NFL, I’ll never know. The boys noticed the automatic firearm he was carrying. My wife noticed the guns located above his elbow in his arms.

(no pic of the security guy...sorry, ladies)

The line for checking in moved quickly, and we had our cards in our hand within ten minutes. We made our way to the holding lobby and were handing our boarding number…group 5. Well, I guess we weren’t getting Vibe passes for the cruise – good thing we weren’t trying to get them, right? The lobby was filling up, but we were still easily able to find several spots to sit. While waiting, I headed to the part of the lobby as close to the ship as possible and was able to connect to the ship’s wifi. I wasn’t able to access our account via Norwegian’s iConcierge app yet, as it appeared that they were still closing out the last cruise’s guests. After a few tries, though, I was able to log in, and I immediately made a dining reservation on the app for Cagney’s on our anniversary (Wednesday). After more research and talking to friends, we decided to do Cagney’s instead of La Cucina. I wasn’t able to cancel the La Cucina reservation on the app, but I knew that I was able to do it at Headliners after we boarded. I also wanted to modify the anniversary cake over to Cagney’s for that night, as it was initially set up for La Cucina.

We waited for probably around 15-20 minutes before we started seeing some of the pre-boarding groups getting on. There were a couple of choruses of “Happy Birthday” sung by a few hundred friends while waiting. Finally, the P.A. announcer told us fellow Norwegians that they were about to start boarding. One of the NCL terminal employees got the crowd excited as she gave the instructions on what all we needed to get past her. Groups 1 and 2 boarded at the same time. As they did that, groups 3 and 4 started lining up. We started making our way towards the loading area. As groups 3 and 4 were announced, we were ready. A thunderous cheer was heard every time they announced a new boarding group allowed. When 5 and 6 were announced, we joined in and let out a quick holler. We gave our boarding group card and were granted access past her.

[cemushr]

The line moved quickly, but we still had a minute or two to look at just how big the Escape was. After a couple of minutes, we scanned our cards, and we were on the gangway heading up to board on Deck 7. There were a lot of smiles and a lot of joking around by everyone as we made our way up. As we stepped foot aboard, there were several members of the crew welcoming us and dancing.

We were on the ship a total of about 5 seconds, and I was already starting to relax.

We got washy-washyed as we made our way aft. A member of the kids’ clubs (Entourage and Splash Academy) sized up Aaron and decided that he probably had the adult beverage package; he gave Eric a quick piece of paper that reminded guests of when enrollment for the clubs were. Sheri took special notice of the life boats and picked one just for her.

We entered a crew hallway (not the biggest fan of that) as we made our way into the guest area. There was a stairwell that had Sheri commenting on “where we definitely DON’T want to be”, harkening to Rose and Jack from Titanic. A few steps later, we were inside on Deck 7, in the casino. We immediately saw the impressive chandelier ahead of us, and, along with everyone else around us, we stopped for pictures and jaw-drops. Everyone else was heading to the right all the way around the chandelier. Being an economist, I sought the most efficient route, and, as you can see in the video (link below), we went left and beat nearly everyone around. We made our way through the casino past the Skyline Bar (the other one…the location with the same name on the Disney Dream will always be “our” Skyline Bar). We made it to the aft elevators, and a crew member informed us that the buffet was open. Seeing that very few were getting on the elevators, we agreed to grab lunch while it was quiet. We rode up to Deck 16 with a couple that were already on drink #2. When the elevator opened, I guided us farther aft, while the few others near the bank of elevators headed forward. That’s a piece of advice to give you there…the aft stations of Garden Café are typically not as crowded as the ones more forward. We found a table right in the corner of the starboard aft section. I told the rest I’d hold the table while they got food. While they were gone, I grabbed a few pictures of downtown Miami and of Carnival Vista, parked just behind us. The boys returned first...as I expected, they had their plates full and were already plotting what to put on plate #2. I went up and grabbed my own plate. As we ate, one of the officers came around, welcomed us aboard, and asked if we needed anything.

 

 

Every 2-3 minutes, a crew member would stop by to clear out plates, restock table settings, asking if we needed anything. After a couple of rounds of main courses, the boys sought out dessert…or, rather, round 1 of desserts. When they returned, Sheri and I headed up together to get dessert, and we saw a crew member handing out that day’s Freestyle Daily, which is the information sheet of all that is going on.

FREESTYLE DAILY, DAY 1

We asked for one and took it back with us to the table, along with dessert. Garden Café was definitely getting busier, but there were still a lot of open tables around us. We all got set up on the iConcierge app and paid for the text/voice access. Eric, always the jokester, started texting us from three feet away, which led to an emoji war involving Sheri and the boys. EVENTUALLY, we gathered our bags (counted…5…good to go) and headed out. Since we were only one deck below Entourage, we decided to get Aaron registered up there. A few minutes later, we headed out of Entourage and started to make our way forward. We walked by the upper level of the Waves bar and noticed that there was only one other guest there. Sheri and I immediately changed paths and headed right into Waves to grab a table. The boys watched our bags while we went up to the bar to order our first drink. We both decided on the drink of the day…the “Daydreamer’s Daiquiri” (Silver rum, lime juice, and agave nectar).

I went to tip the bartender and realized that all I had were $20s. I knew that there was already an 18% gratuity paid for with the drink package, but I wanted to give some more. I secretly kicked myself for not having singles yet, and I sheepishly said, “Thanks!” for the drinks.

xXcAjzCwQcc

[tradewinds traveler]

Wow your review is amazing!

[Laszlo]

EMBARKATION DAY!!I was fully expecting them to start emulating Beavis and Butthead when they had coffee (“I am the great Cornholio!”)

 

 

:'):'):'):')

 

Following!(y)

[fabnfortysomething]

enjoying your review

 

for future reference if you are not already aware

although the crew always seem to direct you towards the garden café buffet on NCL there is always one main dining room open for embarkation lunch

 

it's nearly always half empty because they only announce the buffet option but it is a great way to start the cruise in a relaxed way

 

we have also found service to be quick unlike evening sittings where its often a drawn out affair with taking a while to be able to place orders and then a 20-30 minute delay till starter-reason why meals often reported as taking over 2 hours

fair enough if that's what you want but if you are wanting to do other things with your evening........

[bam1957]

Definitely like reading your review. It's like reading a novel. Thumbs up and following.

[cemushr]

enjoying your review

 

for future reference if you are not already aware

although the crew always seem to direct you towards the garden café buffet on NCL there is always one main dining room open for embarkation lunch

 

it's nearly always half empty because they only announce the buffet option but it is a great way to start the cruise in a relaxed way

 

we have also found service to be quick unlike evening sittings where its often a drawn out affair with taking a while to be able to place orders and then a 20-30 minute delay till starter-reason why meals often reported as taking over 2 hours

fair enough if that's what you want but if you are wanting to do other things with your evening........

 

Our initial plan was to do just that...head to Taste/Savor for lunch. The thing that changed our minds was that they just announced that Garden Cafe was open, and, since we would likely be one of the first few in there, we anticipated it to be quiet (which it was).

 

Good advice to those reading...thanks!

[fabnfortysomething]

Our initial plan was to do just that...head to Taste/Savor for lunch. The thing that changed our minds was that they just announced that Garden Cafe was open, and, since we would likely be one of the first few in there, we anticipated it to be quiet (which it was).

 

Good advice to those reading...thanks!

 

 

OK obviously a case of teaching your grandma to suck eggs:D

 

mind you with 2 strapping teenagers perhaps the buffet is the best option

 

can still remember "Mam I'm STARVING!!!!"

 

carry on with the great review-will look out for you on furure roll calls!

[Suna]

Awesome. Makes me feel like I am there with you.

I just bought a GoPro mainly for our trip ... Seems a lot to learn. What software did you use to make your video?

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

[Laszlo]

Awesome. Makes me feel like I am there with you.

I just bought a GoPro mainly for our trip ... Seems a lot to learn. What software did you use to make your video?

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

 

 

What type of computer are you using? If your on a Mac iMovie is pretty easy. For Mac and PC GP has a pretty basic video editing software that is pretty good called Quik. Shooting 4K video is the best, however keep in mind 4K files can get really big really fast. One minute of 1080 60fps is about 150mg, the same time in 4K is almost 400mg. You also want to make sure your computer can handle editing those 4K files, you need the processing power to do it. I would do some test files in both 180 and 4K to see which one works best on your computer. You don't want to shoot a bunch of 4K and not be able to edit it.

 

 

 

https://shop.gopro.com/softwareandapp/quik-%7C-desktop/Quik-Desktop.html

 

 

 

.

[Suna]

What type of computer are you using? If your on a Mac iMovie is pretty easy. For Mac and PC GP has a pretty basic video editing software that is pretty good called Quik. Shooting 4K video is the best, however keep in mind 4K files can get really big really fast. One minute of 1080 60fps is about 150mg, the same time in 4K is almost 400mg. You also want to make sure your computer can handle editing those 4K files, you need the processing power to do it. I would do some test files in both 180 and 4K to see which one works best on your computer. You don't want to shoot a bunch of 4K and not be able to edit it.

 

 

 

https://shop.gopro.com/softwareandapp/quik-%7C-desktop/Quik-Desktop.html

 

 

 

.

 

 

 

Thanks ;)

 

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[cemushr]

Awesome. Makes me feel like I am there with you.

I just bought a GoPro mainly for our trip ... Seems a lot to learn. What software did you use to make your video?

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

 

 

I should preface all this by saying that I'm a novice at this...this trip report has me using the GoPro and creating videos for the first time ever (and I'm teaching myself as I go), so the final product could probably be a lot better.

 

Laszlo has some really good information in there.

 

95% of the time, I'm using Filmora. The other 5% of the time, I'm using GoPro's Quik software - primarily for compressing the timelapse shots into a file and then importing that file into Filmora for editing. I have a Hero Session 4, and I played around with some settings a little bit before the trip. I'm shooting at 1080P and 30 FPS for the video, and my interval varies on the timelapse shots. I made sure that I had an SD card that could handle the speeds of the GoPro, too.

 

If you want to shoot in 4K, then you're going to want the Extreme cards with a lot of storage in addition to a computer with a good processor. The high-end SanDisk Ultras work for me, but I've found Extreme Plus cards on sale for cheaper than the Ultras; the Extremes have a faster read/write speed than the Ultras and can handle the higher resolutions and FPS.

 

Hope this helps!

[slyone14]

Following, hope you continue this amazing work!

[slyone14]

btw, it sounds like you all boarded at 1130? I will never forget, the best thing in the world, is when you are all excited and board fast. We went to Port Canaveral and got there around 1030, and at 11 we were on the ship.

[Melissalcsw]

So glad I stumbled upon this. Your two videos are great. Your writing is enjoyable.

Time for more lol

[rhelms]

enjoying your review

 

for future reference if you are not already aware

although the crew always seem to direct you towards the garden café buffet on NCL there is always one main dining room open for embarkation lunch

 

it's nearly always half empty because they only announce the buffet option but it is a great way to start the cruise in a relaxed way

 

we have also found service to be quick unlike evening sittings where its often a drawn out affair with taking a while to be able to place orders and then a 20-30 minute delay till starter-reason why meals often reported as taking over 2 hours

fair enough if that's what you want but if you are wanting to do other things with your evening........

 

Hush;)

[dacsmom]

I love your review, and your writing style. I am on the Escape in Feb.

[cemushr]

We continued our way forward, noting that the pool one deck below was essentially empty. We found the ping pong tables as we made our way inside to the forward elevators. We then took the elevator down to deck 5 to head to Splash Academy to get Eric registered. I’ll say upfront that Sheri and I were both a little concerned about the “fit” that Eric would have with Splash. Though he jokes around about everything, he is a mature age of 12, and we thought that much of the activities wouldn’t interest him. I knew that we couldn’t request him to move up to Entourage; we showed Eric an earlier copy of the activities, and he seemed interested in a few of them, so we took the chance and registered him. He received a yellow wrist band that let the crew members know what level he was (he could check himself out after 2 hours of being in the Academy) as well as other pertinent information.

Once he was registered, we stuck our heads into the Guppies room of Splash, and I grabbed a little video of it. After that, we headed up to deck 6 to the atrium. I wanted to stop by guest services to A) try getting the anniversary cake moved from La Cucina over to Cagney’s on the 21st; and B) to break a $20 so I would have tipping money. While waiting in line, the Director of Guest Services, Odie, was greeting guests and seeing if he could take care of any issues without having to speak to a guest services member. Seeing him there impressed me.

I received a card to give to the server for the cake, and I hid it in my pocket…I wanted to surprise Sheri with it on our anniversary. While I was getting this taken care of, Sheri and the boys grabbed a seat in the atrium. The timing was good, because a server came around and got drink orders from them. She got a mojito.

 

 

Not that I was keeping score, but she was +1 on me on drinks.

From the time we got onboard, we heard an announcement that the staterooms were not yet ready every 15-20 minutes. It sounded like a lot of people were trying to get into the rooms early. I wanted to scream to let the cabin stewards do their thing, but I instead took my anger out by gnawing on the straw of my ‘fish. Once we had our drinks done, we started heading around to get a feel for the ship. We worked our way aft and walked through some of the art gallery before finding ourselves in the chandelier atrium (“Atrium #2”, as we called it). I stopped by Headliners to cancel our La Cucina reservation (I saw her typing something about “anniversary” in the Cagney’s reservation, so they knew :)). Since I wanted us to see the variety show, I inquired about trying to move our reservation at the Manhattan Room up to 5:30, and she said that just showing up at 5:15 would be enough. I thanked her and rejoined the Mushfam, who was still staring straight up at the chandelier.

We walked a little farther aft, past the Mixx Bar and Taste/Savor restaurants. Just as we got to the aft elevators, they announced that staterooms were available. Good timing! We hailed a ‘vator and made our way up to Deck 12. Our room was REALLY close to the aft elevators on the port side…12272. The Mushfam all commented on how close the room was, and I basked in the glory of being a good travel consultant and picking a good room for them. I got my card out…

…and failed miserably at getting the door open. Being the typical teen, Aaron grabbed my card and tried, with the same unsuccessful result.

Eric then tried….nope.

I started getting a bit nervous, until Aaron threw his card in and quickly removed it, giving us a green light on the lock. We all piled in, and I immediately noticed that the bed was near the balcony.

WOOHOO!!!! All my information led me to believe that it was by the closet.

We headed out to the balcony/verandah, and I again basked in the glory of a successful stateroom selection. All of us just stood there for a moment, and then Sheri broke the silence: “I see my boats!”, as she pointed to the red lifeboats below us. I noticed that we had three chairs on the verandah, which was awesome. We then heard a “Hi, Neighbor!” to our right. We met the couple in the stateroom next us – a younger couple from Ontario – and talked to them for a couple of minutes. Eric took a panoramic shot, with a...well....an..."interesting" result:

[cemushr]

Sheri started lobbying that we could do sail away on our balcony, which led to a quick exchange between us (I like the excitement of sail away from the upper decks). Aaron then claimed that he was confident that he could spit all the way to the water from our balcony. I contemplated climbing over the railing to stay with the couple from Canada for the duration of the cruise.

We headed back in to look around the room a little, and I noticed that some of our in-room requests had already arrived. The first thing I saw was another card with “Happy Anniversary” on the front and instructions to give the card to our server when we wanted to use it.

Oops – I didn’t realize that this was how they did it. I tried to keep it away from Sheri’s sight, but it didn’t work, and I let her in on the plans. This is a big reason why I wanted to take the cruise – to get a feel for how they do things :). We also got the bottled water that I pre-ordered, as well as the tickets for our shore excursion to Virgin Gorda & the Baths. I noticed that the distilled water that was pre-ordered for my cpap machine had not yet arrived. It was still early, though, and I wasn’t concerned at all.

As if on cue, we heard a knock on the door. It wasn’t the distilled water, but it was a delivery of chocolate-covered strawberries and a bottle of Brut sparkling wine – a perk that Norwegian gives to travel partners sailing with them. The berries were inhaled by all within 12.6 seconds, and the Brut was put into the fridge to start chilling.

I got the cpap machine set up and, though I brought an extension cord, I was happy to see that I wouldn’t need it, as the cord could reach across the room to an outlet. While the boys explored the events on the Freestyle Daily, I opened up my newest toy that went with the GoPro: a Joby suction cup with Gorillapod arm. I went out to the balcony and looked around for the best place to set it up. I decided to place it on the divider on the left and stuck it on. After I dismounted my GoPro from my handle and swapped out the MicroSD card for a larger capacity one, I heard someone above me shout out, “That’s a really cool idea!!!” as I mounted the GoPro to the Joby. Some guests on their balcony on deck 14 saw what I was doing and loved it. I told them my plan of getting a time lapse of the sail away (see video from previous post). I used my iPad to check the orientation of the GoPro (I love technology sometimes!) and, happy with what I saw, I shut it all down to save the battery. I then grabbed our DSLR camera and started taking some pictures from our view – vacation and anniversary aside, I was still “working”.

 

 

The boys were starting to drive Sheri crazy (crazier), so I offered to take them with me while I got some ship pictures. Eric agreed, and, since separating the boys is often the best plan of attack when they are in “let’s-drive-our-parents-crazy” mode, she gave us our blessing.

We immediately headed up to Deck 16 to get a feel for the pool area. It was definitely getting a little more crowded, but it was still manageable. The live music had started, and Eric and I stopped to listen for a moment:

[cemushr]

 

 

I noticed that both levels of the Wave bar were definitely a lot busier than when we got our drink. My Disney/Universal strategy of “go-where-they-ain’t” is still paying dividends on the ship. I turned around, and we got our first glimpse of the water slides (then closed, as the Muster drill was about an hour away).

 

 

 

Eric and I headed forward. I had two objectives here: 1) first, I wanted Eric to see the view from the front of the ship; and 2) I wanted to see the crowd levels on the sundecks up there. Aside from us, there may have been only 3-4 couples up on the forward sundecks, and I immediately made a mental note of that in case we wanted to do some laying out the next day. I also thought that this area might be a good spot for sail away. I really liked the small walkway on Deck 19 that overlooked the pool area and gave you a view of both sides of the ship. The pictures below show the view from that location:

We then headed aft to look at the arcade, and I could see Eric making a mental note of all that was in there. I had a feeling that we’d be checking the onboard accounts a lot on this cruise to make sure they weren’t spending hundreds of dollars a day in there.

Eric and I arrived back to the stateroom around 3:00, and the other two were chilling a bit after getting the carry-ons taken care of. We had the Muster drill coming up soon, and we hoped that, if we got there early, we might have a chance to be one of the early ones out. Our assigned station was E4, which was Taste/Savor. The setup then (keep in mind that this could change) was that odd numbers were in Taste, with evens in Savor. The crew got set up, and we followed the member with the green “E4” sign, got our cards scanned (yes, they scan to make sure you attend), and grabbed a seat. This was definitely much more comfortable than Disney’s muster station, where you assemble on the promenade near the lifeboats, but Sheri also commented that her lifeboat just for her was more than three steps away. I made a joke that, perhaps they would have a band playing for us while they got the Haven guests to their boats first, like in Titanic. Though I got a death glare from her, I think she preferred this setup for the drill.

Peter was our station’s crew member, and he maintained an excellent combination of humor (to keep things from being too boring) and professionalism (he knew when to stop the jokes). Our Cruise Director, Tyler Gray, was doing the spiel, and I noticed that his voice was a bit more gravelly than I recalled hearing from the videos I had seen before. Soon after, we were released from the drill, and, while much of the masses went to the elevator bank, we squeezed past them to the stairs. I warned them that it was going to be a climb up to Deck 17, but they seemed like they were okay with it. I then told them that I was stopping at Deck 12 to get the GoPro started.

I don’t know why, but they didn’t seem too happy about it around Deck 12.

I peeled off at Deck 12 and immediately saw that two of our checked bags had already arrived. I opened the door and got the bags inside. I then started the GoPro and contemplated sitting down for a second, ordering room service, taking a nap, etc. Then reality set in, and I knew I’d be fish food if I actually did that, so I bounded up the stairs to Deck 17. Sheri texted me their location – port side, under the Aqua Racer (SHADE). I found them a minute later, and we grabbed some railing. I looked over and saw the water eddying from the bow thruster. That meant only one thing…we were going to be the first ship out (you can see it in the video).

Sweet!

[CTSandy]

Following and enjoying this report!

[Suna]

oh don't stop writing .... continue .... I am enjoying your 'story' and hate waiting for more. :(

[Dina7]

Great review so far! Really enjoying it!